A TOUCH OF COLOR
STREET ART Street art refers to a form of artistic expression found in public spaces and thus openly accessible to everyone. The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, stencil graffiti, sticker art, tape art, street poster art, video projection, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations. Typically, the term street art or the more specific post-graffiti is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism, and corporate art. Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. ‘Street’ artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language. They attempt to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes in ways that are informed by esthetic values without being imprisoned by them. The motivations and objectives that drive street artists are as varied as the artists themselves. There is a strong current of activism and subversion in urban art. Street art can be a powerful platform for reaching the public, and frequent themes include adbusting, subvertising and other culture jamming, the abolishment of private property and reclaiming the streets. Other street artists simply see urban space as an untapped format for personal artwork, while others may appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public places. However the universal theme in most, if not all street art, is that adapting visual artwork into a format which utilizes public space, allows artists who may otherwise feel disenfranchised, to reach a much broader audience than traditional artwork and galleries normally allow. Street artists almost always remian anonymous or are known only to a small circle of people. Street art usually entails illicit action (for example damag to property, defacement and unauthorized placards). The artists, however, do not see anything unlawful in what they are doing. Street artists promote themselves, their attitudes or specific ideas in their work. Thus they are advertising for an individual and not a product in the classical sense. Their works are often a parody of an existing advertisement. Artists explain their motivation as stemming from a need to personally design public space, to provide an alternative to the dominant impact of commercial advertising and its superficialty, and as an outlet to express their creativity. STREET ART IN BERLIN Berlin is currently one of the few cities with such a large and eclectic collection of street art on its walls and streets. Berlin is the formerly divided frontline city of the Cold War, once a city with two opposing political systems, an old and a new capital, a transit city in the heart of Europe, a cultural city. All this lends Berlin a special status and adds to its unique charisma and charm. After the wall fell some areas in the eastern half of the city were deserted. A sense of vacancy prevailed. Little by little artists, musicians and lots of other people began to settle in these empty areas. A new era began. After Berlin re-established itself as the national capital, the city began to boom. Rents in the eastern parts of the city are still low. The space available is greater than the demand, making the city attractive to artists and other creative people. The city remains affordable and there is enough space for everyone. Young people from all over the world meet in Berlin and together form a large and continually growing creative scene. Over time, galleries, independent shops, small publishers, agencies and exhibitions have literally sprung up out of nowhere. Any number of universities, schools and independent educational institutions offer training to people interested in developing and improving their creative skills. Designers, sculptors, painters, graphic artists, photographers, gallery owners, independent artists and fashion designers find a good infrastructure for their work in Berlin - a mix of inspiration, space, forum and demand. Berlin is a place that is forever changing, but which also remains permanently unfinished. This is especially true for places like Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg where a multi-faceted creative life has established itself. The residents of these districts identify strongly with their neighborhoods. Communication takes place in them in many different ways. Street art is an indication of the free creative potential of a neighborhood and shows how strongly the residents wish to participate and consciously influence the design of the public space. It is a move away from the generally accepted codex, from control and monotony, and a step towards criticism, questioning, redesign and personal definition. And it does this with such a degree of diversity that it both interests and inspires. The surfaces of the city emerge as a large gallery. DSC01959.JPG|In Berlin, you'll find murals on many surfaces and what's great is that the community really seems to embrace the art, often inviting artists to paint on their empty firewalls and facades. DSC01979.JPG|While riding the S-Bahn, you'll see numerous works of art. It seems to brighten up the city and gives you something to look at. DSC01776.JPG|The artist OGO paints these three-eyed monster around Berlin. The monster tries to tell the audience to get connected and be friends. DSC01686.JPG|DONE makes this boring and monotonous parking lot pop. DSC04097.JPG|Much of the art appears to be aggressive but once you look closer you find that they aren't bringing terror, but rather words of wisdom and beauty. DSC01815.JPG|Political figures and issues are a hot topic here in Berlin. DSC04118.JPG|EMESS has been artistically active as a street artist for years. His desire is to irritate and provoke; his subject matter is often political and usually concerns people, war, terror and the media. The Berliner creates his art with the help of pictogram-like elements to which he assigns a contextual meaning that stands in contrast to the expected messages so that they initially irritate and then set off a thought process. DSC04103.JPG|The street artist XOOOOX first introduced his stencils and posters to the streets of Berlin in 2001, usually on decaying or worn-out surfaces. People who observe his work often agree that it is an adornment of public space within the norm tolerated by the broader population. DSC04101.JPG|Another work by XOOOOX. The art fades with time, making it a temporary exhibit that constantly changes and eventually allows the space to return to its decrepit state. 100_1470.JPG|The little man by the railroad near the Velodrome and Natatorium. 100_1468.JPG|tagging within one of the U bahn stations near Natatorium. 100_1487.JPG|More stencil work under a traffic bridge by the spree. By the artist Mogul titled Checkmate!